250 Words on the Examined Life

[I try to start my day writing 250 words on anything. I’ll post one every Tuesday until I run out of good ones.]

“The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt.” –Bertrand Russel.

It’s a truism of both fiction and life that everyone is the hero of their own story. Few villains consider themselves evil. In their minds, they’re doing the right thing for the right reason. They think they’re the good guys.

So do the good guys.

How can you tell which you are?

I try to weigh my actions and motives using three questions: Who does it hurt? Who does it help? What if the situation were reversed?

The last first: What if they were a woman instead of a man, poor instead of rich, white instead of minority, liberal instead of conservative? If the other team were doing the same thing as mine, would it be right and fair? It’s a good hypocrisy test. 

For example, If you don’t object when your party’s politicians betray their oaths, take bribes and commit felonies, but would raise hell if another party’s politicians did, you might be a hypocrite. Reverse the names, see if you feel the same. 

Who do I want to hurt? I’m like Captain America that way: I don’t want to hurt anyone, but I don’t like bullies. When I see bullies targeting the weak and vulnerable, that’s who I try to help.

I think those are good guides. I use them to check myself all the time, and have actually changed my own mind on occasion. I recommend them.

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